Presti trades his Manu

Russell Westbrook is the star. He flies toward dunks, and he shoots as if he is Kevin Durant’s equal, and there haven’t been many point guards in history like him. Sam Presti weighed all of that when deciding who to keep and who to trade, and maybe Presti remembers Game 5 in San Antonio last June.

Then, Westbrook filled up the box score with 23 points and 12 assists when the Thunder beat the Spurs in a pivotal game of the series.

But Westbrook also missed 15 shots that night and finished with six turnovers. More telling of that team — and why the Thunder advanced — is what James Harden did with about 30 seconds left. Tim Duncan had pulled the Spurs within two points when Harden stepped back with a 3-pointer.

Presti had seen this before, as had the Spurs. This is how Manu Ginobili won games and championships.

Presti knows his roster and his budget better than anyone. He’s a smart man, and he likely pushed the Rockets further than they wanted to be pushed with their trade package.

But Presti also knows he was stuck. When Harden hesitated to take a $55.5 million extension, Presti faced an unusual dilemma. He was being penalized for drafting too well.

Presti had taken Westbrook, Harden and Serge Ibaka. He couldn’t keep all three — and Durant — without eventually paying a massive luxury tax penalty. Given that, and given his options, maybe Presti made the move he had to make.

But Harden is special. He is clever, and he works the refs, and he knows the nuances of the game. He also creates for teammates better than Westbrook ever has. That — and his left-handed drives — make him the closest thing to Ginobili the league has seen.

Harden wasn’t the same against the Heat in the Finals. Still, what he showed against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals suggests he will be the kind of player who wins in pressure moments for the next decade.

This is why OKC isn’t as scary today. The Thunder wouldn’t have beaten the Spurs last spring without Harden, and that moment in Game 5 meant everything.

Duncan’s bank shot had cut the Thunder lead to two. And then Harden made a play.

“I think Kawhi Leonard was playing very good defense on me,” Harden said that night, “and I just had to make a play.”

Had to make a play?

The Spurs wouldn’t have been the same these past 10 years without Ginobili doing the same.